New dissertation within One Health: We congratulate Carl Lehto!
Last changed: 11 June 2024
Recently, Carl Lehto successfully defended his thesis. We took the opportunity to ask some questions about his research and future plans.
Who are you? Could you give a short presentation of yourself and your research area?
"I’m a biologist with a master’s degree in Ecology and Nature Conservation from Uppsala University. After graduating, I worked with field inventory of plants in the NILS project and with the creation of nature reserves at the county administrative board of Dalarna. My interest in my field of research, outdoor recreation, developed during my biology studies. Spending time in nature is what we biologists do best! When a position related to the topic opened up, I was quick to apply."
What is your research about (the “big idea”) and how does it relate to One Health?
"I study what characteristics of landscapes make them more or less preferable for outdoor recreation. Outdoor recreation has been directly linked to health and well-being of people, with increased time spent in natural environments leading to many positive outcomes."
What problem does your research help to solve in the short and long term?
"In the short term, I have broadly identified which characteristics are important for recreationists and which could be useful for physical planning, such as identifying which areas might be important to protect for outdoor recreation. It is also relevant for the management of areas for outdoor recreation. In the long term, I hope that further developments of my research will produce a spatial index of outdoor recreation potential and classify areas from map data. This could be used to estimate the amount and quality of recreational areas on a national level."
How can your research contribute to a more sustainable world / what impact at the societal level can the results contribute to?
"As cities develop we’re often losing green space, and my hope is that being able to point to certain characteristics to show why they are important for outdoor recreationists may help protect these during the planning process. ."
What are your plans now after your PhD?
"In the longer perspective, I’m hoping to continue doing similar research; however, for now, I’ll be taking parental leave to take care of my daughter Edith, who was born last year."
We wish Carl the best of luck in his future career!